Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign James Nunnally

January 11th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY, 2:47pm: The Hawks have officially signed Nunnally to a 10-day deal, the team announced via press release.

FRIDAY, 7:51am: The Hawks have reached an agreement to sign D-League forward James Nunnally to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Gino Pilato of D-League Digest first reported that Nunnally was in line for a D-League call-up from Atlanta.

Nunnally, who went undrafted in 2012, has spent most of the last two seasons with the Bakersfield Jam, and also received a training camp invite this past fall from the Suns. In 19 games for the Jam this season, the 23-year-old has averaged 18.2 PPG and shot 41.5% on three-pointers. Nunnally was a hot name at the D-League Showcase in Reno this week, reportedly meeting with the Cavs, Bulls, and Thunder before agreeing to sign with the Hawks.

Having waived Cartier Martin before this week’s contract guarantee deadline, the Hawks have a single open spot on their roster, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to make room for Nunnally. If the team wants to keep the UC Santa Barbara alum around after his first deal expires, it can sign him to a second 10-day contract, then must decide whether to let him go or guarantee him a full-season salary.

D-League Moves: Fesenko, Hairston, Nedovic

January 10th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers recalled Lorenzo Brown from the D-League this morning, about 24 hours after assigning him to the Delaware 87ers, and that was just the first of several notable D-League transactions today. Let’s round up a few more….

Former NBA veteran Kyrylo Fesenko has been claimed by those Delaware 87ers, the team announced (Twitter link). Fesenko hasn’t played in the NBA since appearing in a few games with the Pacers in 2011/12, having caught on with multiple teams overseas since then. Gino Pilato of D-League Digest first reported last weekend that the ex-Jazz center had entered the D-League player pool.
Former North Carolina guard P.J. Hairston has filed the paperwork to join the D-League, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Hairston’s NCAA basketball career ended when UNC decided not to seek his reinstatement following an investigation into potential rule violations. Hairston will be eligible for the 2014 draft, so no NBA teams will be able to call him up this season.
The Warriors have recalled Nemanja Nedovic from the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a press release from Golden State. Nedovic, on his fourth assignment of the season, was sent to Santa Cruz nearly two weeks ago, but didn’t play much this time around after tweaking his hamstring last weekend.
Andre Roberson will head to the Tulsa 66ers on his second D-League assignment of the season, the Thunder announced today in a release. The assignment comes on the heels of perhaps the strongest showing of Roberson’s young NBA career — he scored five points and grabbed six boards in Denver last night.
The Grizzlies have re-assigned Jamaal Franklin to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Franklin played one game for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants during his last assignment, recording 15 points and four steals.

Bulls Sign Cartier Martin

January 10th, 2014 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Three days after being released by the Hawks, Cartier Martin has found a new job. The Bulls have signed Martin to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Martin, 29, spent parts of four seasons with the Wizards prior to hooking on with the Hawks, appearing in 118 total games for Washington. In 25 contests with Atlanta this season, Martin averaged 6.6 PPG and 2.0 RPG while shooting a career-best 40.5% on three-pointers.

The Bulls had a two-week window after completing their trade of Luol Deng to add another body and increase their player count to 13, the minimum roster count allowed by the NBA. The Deng deal dipped Chicago slightly below the luxury tax, giving the team little room to add players. So unless the Bulls find another cost-cutting trade, we shouldn’t expect them to fill those last two open roster spots.

Odds & Ends: Thunder, Nuggets, Moon, D-League

January 8th, 2014 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2017 second-round pick the Thunder acquired from the Grizzlies in this week’s three-team trade with the Celtics won’t change hands if it falls anywhere from 31 to 55, according to RealGM’s log of traded draft picks. The 2014 second-round pick from the Sixers that the Thunder also landed in the deal will be moved if it falls between 51 and 55, so there’s a good chance OKC never see either pick.

Here’s more on that trade and a few other notes from around the NBA:

Berry Trammel and Jon Hamm go in-depth to explain in a piece for the Oklahoman why the Thunder got involved in that swap. As we suggested yesterday, the move didn’t save OKC any money or land them real draft assets, but it allowed the team to create a little more cap flexibility below the tax line. With team salary now roughly $2.29MM below the tax threshold, the Thunder may have increased their odds of using the Eric Maynor trade exception worth about $2.34MM, writes Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman.
The Nuggets look poised to begin saving some money on Danilo Gallinari’s salary, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, who notes that an NBA insurance policy will kick in after Gallinari misses his 41st consecutive regular season game. The policy ensures that the Nuggets will only have to cover 50% of Gallinari’s base salary per game for each additional contest he misses after the 41st.
Former NBA forward Jamario Moon announced on Twitter that he’s leaving the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders to join Olympiacos in Greece, which the team itself confirmed on Facebook a little later (translation via Sportando).
The NBA appears to finally be on the verge of buying the Silna family – owners of the defunct Spirit of St. Louis – out of their take of TV revenue, writes Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. It’s a great read for those of you not familiar with one of the stranger business arrangements in pro sports.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside conducted an interesting Q&A with D-League president Dan Reed, who expressed optimism that the league will eventually expand to 30 teams, with all 30 maintaining a single-affiliate relationship with an NBA franchise.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Chris Smith Joins Erie BayHawks

January 8th, 2014 at 12:34pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

12:34pm: Smith has rejoined the Erie BayHawks, dressing for the team today in its game against the Idaho Stampede.

WEDNESDAY, 8:30am: A tweet from Smith himself has raised doubts about his D-League team, since it seems to suggest he’s returning to the Erie BayHawks, as Schlosser writes.

TUESDAY, 5:15pm: It was reported earlier this week that the former Knicks reserve Chris Smith would sign with a D-League team but the exact team wasn’t revealed until moments ago by Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. Smith will be signing a D-League contract with the L.A. D-Fenders, who are owned by the Lakers.

This will not be the first time this season Smith has seen playing time in the D-League, as the Knicks sent him down to their affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, for six games prior to waiving him.

Hawks Waive Cartier Martin

January 7th, 2014 at 4:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The Hawks waived Cartier Martin in advance of today’s 4pm CT deadline, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Had Atlanta not beat the deadline, Martin’s minimum salary contract would have been guaranteed for the rest of the season.

The 29-year-old spent parts of four seasons with the Wizards prior to hooking on with the Hawks, appearing in 118 total games for Washington. Martin averaged 6.6 points per contest and 2.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game for the Hawks this season. He’ll be job hunting but it seems likely that he’ll find something soon, perhaps on a ten-day deal to start.

Sixers Waive Daniel Orton

January 7th, 2014 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

4:13pm: The Sixers announced the move, making it official.

3:41pm: The 76ers will waive Daniel Orton prior to today’s contract guarantee deadline, reports ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The move will ensure that Philadelphia isn’t on the hook for Orton’s full-season salary.

Orton, 23, has appeared in 22 games for the Sixers this season, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 11.4 minutes per contest. After being released by the Thunder during training camp, Orton caught on with the Sixers, earning a spot on the regular season roster on a minimum-salary, non-guaranteed deal.

Assuming Orton is the only cut for the Sixers today, the team will open up a single spot on the 15-man roster. There’d be no need to fill that spot right away, but Philadelphia has been active this season in auditioning young players, gauging which of them, if any, could be long-term pieces. As such, I’d expect the team to at least fill that 15th roster spot with a player on a 10-day contract.

Bulls Waive Andrew Bynum

January 7th, 2014 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Bulls have waived Andrew Bynum, a league source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The move comes in advance of today’s guarantee deadline, so Bynum’s cap hit on Chicago’s books will be worth $6MM rather than his full-season salary of $12.25MM.

Bynum was a Bull for less than 24 hours before being cut, having been acquired from the Cavaliers in the trade involving Luol Deng that was finalized late last night. Because Bynum’s contract acts as a midseason expiring deal, Chicago will be able to dip below the luxury tax threshold, saving more than $20MM in total salary and tax payments.

Due to his significant cap figure and less significant recent impact on the court, Bynum will pass through waivers without being claimed, which will free him up to sign with any team besides Cleveland as soon as this week. The 26-year-old is believed to be interested in the Heat and Clippers, though Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times suggests (via Twitter) that L.A. is lukewarm about the idea of pursuing the big man. The Knicks are expected to be in the mix as well.

It’s unlikely that Bynum will draw more than minimum-salary offers, but if he does, Miami could be well positioned, since the Heat have yet to use their mid-level exception this season.

Clippers Waive Stephen Jackson

January 7th, 2014 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

2:03pm: Jackson has officially been waived, according to the Clippers.

8:43am: The Clippers have yet to make it official, but “signs are pointing” to Stephen Jackson being released by today’s guarantee deadline, says Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com echoes that sentiment, tweeting that it’s a safe bet the Clips will waive Jackson.

Jackson signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Clippers last month, but hasn’t seen significant action, despite the fact that Matt Barnes, Reggie Bullock, and J.J. Redick have all missed time with various ailments. In nine appearances, the 35-year-old has played 11.9 minutes per game, averaging just 1.7 PPG with a .231 FG% and a 0.2 PER. He was the team’s only healthy, active player not to see action in last night’s blowout of the Magic.

The Clippers also waived Maalik Wayns‘ non-guaranteed contract this week, but immediately filled Wayns’ spot on the roster by signing Darius Morris to a 10-day contract. So if and when L.A. officially releases Jackson, it will reduce the club’s roster count to 14 players — 13 guaranteed deals, plus Morris’ 10-day deal. That open roster spot would give the Clips the flexibility to add another player on a 10-day contract, or even to pursue Andrew Bynum, once he clears waivers.

Lakers Release Shawne Williams

January 7th, 2014 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have waived Shawne Williams, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The move opens up a spot on the team’s roster, reducing it to 14 players.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles suggested yesterday that, of the Lakers’ four non-guaranteed players, Williams looked like the only real candidate to be cut loose. The 27-year-old had appeared in 32 games for the Lakers, starting 11 of them, but had seen his role reduced as of late. He averaged 5.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 20.2 minutes per contest for the season.

With no 15th man on board now, the Lakers could use the available roster spot to bring Williams back on a 10-day deal, or to pursue another free agent, such as Hedo Turkoglu. It doesn’t appear that the club will be opening up any additional spots on the roster, as Kendall Marshall, Ryan Kelly, and Xavier Henry all look like good bets to have their contracts guaranteed.